Escapement for timepieces



l. GREENWALD.

ESCAPEMENT FOR TIMEPIECES.

APPLICATION FILED APR-4,1921.

: '39'8,776. Patented Nov. 29, 1921* INVENTOR I51 002 GEEENWALD A TTORNEYS WITNESSES.

UNITED STATES ISIDQR GREENWALD,

PATENT OFFICE.

on NEW YORK, NY.

ESCAPEMENT FOR TIMEPIEGES.

Application filed April 4,

' citizen of the United States, and a resident "vide an escapement for time pieces in which of the city of New York, borough of Manhattan, in the county and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Escapement for Timepieces, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to time pieces and particularly to an improved escapement therefor and has for an object to provide a construction in which the usual hair spring is eliminated and a coil spring substituted.

Another object of the invention is to proa coil spring is utilized together with a system of gearing whereby the balance wheel may be caused to travel less or more than one revolution upon each of its back and forth movements.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an escapement in which easily operated means for finally adjusting the parts is presented. 7

in the accompanying drawing- Figure 1 is a plan view with certain parts broken away illustrating the time piece and disclosing one embodiment of the escapement illustrating the invention.

Fig. 2 is an edge view of the structure shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a detail fragmentary view illustrating the action of the escapement pawl and escapemcnt wheel.

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but showing the parts in a different position.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view through 1 apgroximately on line 55.

Referring" to the accompanying drawing by numerals 1 indicates a frame for containing various mechanism 2 of the time piece including the escapement mechanism 3. The construction of the clock mechanism 2 maybe any suitable kind and varied as occasion may demand without departing from the spirit of the invention, as the invention refers particularly to the escapement mechanism.

From Fig. I particularly, it will be seen that the escapement mechanism includes a balance wheel 4, a supporting shaft 5 therefor. a pinion 6 rigidly secured to shaft 5 or formed integral therewith, a mutilated gear 7 meshing with the pinion 6, a coil spring 8 and regulating mechanism 9. The pinion 6 Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 29, 1921.

1921. Serial No. 458,232.

is continually in mesh with the tooth portion of gear 7 and said gear is rigidly se- ('Ulet to shaft 10 suitably journaled in the frame 1 and provided with an escapement member or pawl 11 near the end opposite that carrying the gear 7. The pawl 11 is either formed integral with the shaft 10 or rigidly secured thereto and provided with a notch 12 having walls 13 and 14: adapted to engage at different times the various teeth 15 of the escapement wheel 16 forming a part of the escapement mechanism. A short arm 1'7, preferably in the form of an eye is secured to the shaft 10 and extends therefrom so that one end of the spring 8 may be secured thereto while the opposite end is connected with a standard 18, which standard extends through an arc-shaped slot 19 in one of the plates of the frame 1. A regulating arm 20 is pivotally mounted at 21 on the frame 1 and is preferably rigidly connected with the reduced extension 22 of the standard or post- 18 whereby when the regulating pointer 20 is shifted over the scale 23, the tension of spring 8 will be varied. In order that the pointer 20 may be locked or held in any of its adjusted positions, a spring 21 is arranged between the clamping nut 25 and the pointer, said nut being tightened until the spring gives suflicient friction to automatically lock the pointer 20 in any of its adjusted positions though permitting the operator to readily shift the same. t will. of course, be understood that the power of spring 8 is very small.

It will be understood that the usual clock mechanism 2 is provided with a winding member. a main spring for rotating the gear '26 which meshes with a pinion 27, which pinion is connected with shaft 28 and said shaftis rigidly secured to a gear 29. The gear 29 meshes with a pinion 30 journaled in the frame 1 and carrying the escapement wheel 16 whereby said escapement wheel is continually urged to rotate by the spring of the clock mechanism. The construction of the escapement wheel 16 is slightly different from ordinary escapements whereby the teeth 15 are preferably provided with comparatively straight radiating walls 31 on one side and an inclined preferably curved wall 32 on the opposite side whereby the wall or side 31 may properly engage the wall 1 1 of pawl 11 for actuating the same.

In operation. when the parts are standing still they usually assume the position shown in Fig. 3 and when this position is assumed and the balance wheel astarted to move manually, the pawl 11 will move as indicated by the arrow in Fig. '3 so that the periphery thereof will scrape by the outer end of the teeth 15 until wall 13 has'passed said outer end whereupon wall 14; will be opposite the wall 31 of tooth 15 and said tooth will automatically move toward wall 141 but as the momentum of the balance wheel is. considerable, wall 1 L will strike wall 81 of tooth 15 and move said tooth back a; short distance, as for instance, to the position shown in Fig. 4:. By this time the action of'thebal'a'nce wheel and spring '18 will have been overcome and the escapement wheel 16. willjmoveunder the action or the'power transmitted thereto and will, in -addition, "move the pawl 11 quickly to substantiallv the position shown in Fig. 3

and in'this movement will rotate the balance wheel 4 aswell as. bring the spring 8' under. tension. As soon as the tension of spring 8 has overcome the momentum of the balance wheel 4 and begun to return the same,=pawl llwill begin again to move as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 3 and the action is repeated. By this construction and arrangement, the parts may be so proportioned, especially the pinion 6 and the mutilated gear '7 that balance wheel 4 may be given only a partial revolution upon each reciprocation 'or maybe caused to revolve more than'one revolution whereby the speed or the escapement may bevaried. By the particulararrangement of the 'p'ointer 20, an easy adjustment of spring 8 may be had so that aproper back; and forth movement of the'bal'a'nce wheel is secured according tothe size or constructed time piece.

Whatl claim 'is I I 1. An escapement of the character described comprising abalancewheel, a pinionfconnected with the balance wheel, a gear wheel meshing with said pinion, a coiled retractile spring 1 connected with said gear wheel "and positioned to normally hold "said l g'ear wheel in fa given position, an escapement wheel and'agpa'wl connected with said balance wheel, sa'idpawl co-acting with the escapement wheel for transmitting power from theesc'a'pement wheel to the balance various conditions present in any particular scribed a spirally wound retractile spring and means for varying the tension thereof, said means [comprising a post connectedto one end of said spring, a swinging arm connected with said post and capable of moving the post when swung and means for locking said arm in any adjusted position.

4. In an BSCZLPGHIBDt for time pieces a spring, a post connected with one end of said spriiig, 'a pivot-ally mounted arm connected with said post capable of shifting the,

post for varying the tension of the spring, a spring member co-actingwith said post for locking the same in any adjusted position and means'formaintaining said spring member under tension. 7 i

5. An escapementcomprising a balance wheel, a. shaft connected with said balance wheel provided with'a pinion at one end, a gear member meshing with said pinion for driving the balance wheel in one direction,

a gear wheel shaft secured to said gear member, means associated with said gear wheel shaft for driving sa1d gear wheel in one direction, and a spring acting on said gear 7 member for causing the same to drive said balance wheel in an opposite direction;

6.111 an-escapement of the character described a spring and means for varying the tension thereof, said means comprising a post connected'to oneend of said spring, an arm connected ntermediate its length with said post, means at one end of said arm torpivotally. mounting said arm so as 'to' niove'said postin the-arc 0'1"- a circle, a spring member acting on said arm to 'frictionally hold the same in place, and-locking means for compressing said spring member in any adj usted position.

'isrnoie GREENWALD. 

